Last week NBC played hero for fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine when the network picked up the moribund show from Fox, which had surprisingly canceled the comedy after five seasons. People rejoiced. Twitter burbled with happy Andy Samberg GIFs.

But for fans of Timeless, NBC's time-traveling drama that just wrapped up its second season on a gigantic cliffhanger, the network may be more goat than great. NBC has yet to decide if Timeless is canceled or renewed, which is unusual at this point in the season. Most shows learn their fate at their network's upfront presentation.

Yet NBC declined to make a decision on Timeless, saying it was still weighing its options.

That may sound like reason for fans to celebrate — if the show wasn't canceled, then that surely means the network sees some value in keeping it around, right? A big uptick in DVR viewership for the finale or a successful #RenewTimeless campaign (yes, it's been trending all week) might sway NBC just like it saved Brooklyn, no? Perhaps not.

Ultimately, Timeless's fate may be sealed by something playing a bigger and bigger role in the network TV business these days: the show's producer.

Brooklyn is produced by Universal Television, the sister studio to NBC. That means the network had a vested interest in seeing Brooklyn make it to another season. A sixth season equals more syndication money, more VOD money and a bigger library of content to monetize across platforms in the future.

Timeless, on the other hand, is produced by Sony Pictures Television. NBC has no vested interest in that studio, and thus less reason to bring the show back.

For years, networks ordered shows from a variety of studios, chasing the best content. Though sometimes studios and networks lined up, such as Grey's Anatomy and ABC Studios, just as often they didn't — see 20th Century Fox's Modern Family, which has long been a hit for ABC.

Over the past decade, however, with the value of off-network shows declining thanks to the rise of VOD, the networks have begun aligning more closely with their studios. Networks want ownership in the shows they nurture and promote.

The trend extends to existing shows, too. Last week, Fox revived Last Man Standing, the former ABC show that is produced by 20th Century Fox.

Can a show that doesn't have a network-backed studio behind it survive these days? Yes, but it may not be able to go for long without strong ratings, which seems to be the lesson of Timeless. The show may wind up airing somewhere next year, but it probably won't be on NBC.

I covered TV for 15 years at Media Life (RIP). Now I run a content/editing company, The Edit Group, and work for a bunch of magazines. Recently survived my first Tough Mudder.